Churn and butterworker



Oct. 10, 1944. A. H. BOILEAU 011mm AND BUTTERWORKER Filed Jan. :5, 1939 s Sheets-Sheet 1 mu a B H; M m w Oct. 10, 1944.

A. H. BOILEAL) CHURN AND BUTTERWORKER Filed Jan. 3, 1939 5 Sheets-Sheet 3 1N VENT OR.

- Patented'Oct. 10, 1944 UNITED STATES PATENT .OFFICE'; 7 2,359,144

011mm AND nu'rranwonxsa Arthur B. Boileau, Cedar Rapids, Iowa, asslxnor to Cherry-Barrel] corporation Corporation, Chicago, 111., a

Application January 3,1939, Serial No. 249,058 scams. 259-81) This invention relates to churns, and moreparticularly to churns of the sanitary type, having horizontal revolving drums, provided with fixed shelves and baflle means for the agitation, blend ing and working of the cream and butter, and.

in which all of the parts which contact the product are freely accessible for cleaning.

In churns of the sanitary type constructed of wood, distortion and warping may occur. It is, therefore, essential that allowance be made for such possible distortion or warping of the walls or the ends of the churn drum to prevent the undue straining of supporting and driving mechanism incidental to such distortion or warpage. It is also desirable in the construction of sanitary wood churns to avoid asmuch as possible the use of exposed metal parts, packing glands and the incorporation of any other elements which present unsanitary surfaces, and which,

- if not particularly cared for, constitute sources of contamination of the product.

The accompanying drawings illustrate a sanitary churn of simple, inexpensive construction as contemplated by my invention. Howeventhe invention is not to be limited to the specific embodiment disclosed The aspect of the instant invention dealing with the supporting spider or gudgeon provided with resilient supporting arms is set forth in detail and claimed in the co-pending application Serial No. 523,753, filed February 24, 1944, and entitled "Resilient churn support," which application is a division of this application.

' The aspect of the instant invention dealing with the shelf supporting bracket and the me chanical arrangement of the integral parts thereof is set forth in detail and claimed in the copending application Serial No. 523,754, filed Feb.- ruary 24, 1944, and, entitled Churn support, t\Ihich application is a division of this, applica- The objects of this invention are to provide a simple. inexpensive, sanitary churn of durable construction, in which all of the cream or butter contacting elements can be easily cleaned:

in wh ch the shelves and homes within the churn 'are so arranged as to blend, combine, uniformly exposed metal parts;

and in which the means supporting the churn drum upon its standards provides for possible warping or distortion of the elements of the churn drum.

A particular object of this invention is to provide a churn comprising a cylindrical, horizontally disposed, rotatable drum, having a plurality of longitudinally extending, fixedly mounted shelves intermediate the end walls thereof. Some placement when the drum has been rotated into the unloading position. All of the shelves, with the exception of ,the unloading shelf, are provided with av-shaped leading edge, having an outwardly directed apex near the mid-portion of the churn, and are so arranged with respect to the centrally fixed and axially extending splitting bar or baflle that the contents of the churn when in operation will be guided by the V-shaped shelves toward the central portion of the churn and drop -with a, controlled motion upon the central splitting bar. The unloading shelf, which is not provided with a V-shaped leading edge, will have a tendency to direct the. contents of the churn" towards the ends of the drum when the churn his in operation, as contrasted with the efiect of the remaining V-shaped shelves, whereby the working action of the churn upon the cream and butter being processed will be moreuniform, will aid in the blending of the product, and will prevent undue impact by controlling th dropping action of the product from which will yet permit the satisfactory gathering drum is so supported upon itsstandards, and i the shelves within the churn, as to maintain the interior of the drmn substantially free of of all of the butter content of the churn upon the unloading shelf upon completion of the working operation withoutinterference by the re- -maining shelves, parts of which extend in close proximity to the centrally fixed splitting bar.

A further object of this invention is to provide support means for a churn which will accommodate expansion, contraction, distortion or warping of the churn drum without simmntially porting bracket, as illustrated in-Figure affecting or applying stresses to the churn drum supporting and driving mechanism.

Another object is to provide a unique means for supporting the churn drum upon the churn gudgeon or supporting spider, and to support the shelves within the churn by the same unique means, whereby the use of exposed metal parts within the interior of the churn is entirely avoided.

An important feature of this invention is the construction of the V-shaped shelves and the arrangement thereof within the drum, whereby the impact of the butter falling from the shelves during the operation of the churn-is substantially directed and controlled, and whereby upon completion of the working operation the butter may be centrally accumulated upon the unloading shelf without interference from the remaining shelves in the churn.

Other important features of this invention will be apparent upon the examination of the details of the construction of the churn including the alternative means or construction for-supporting the shelves in the churn which cooperates in a novel manner with the supporting of the churn drum upon its gudgeon or supporting spider, all of which will be first clearly described and then specifically pointed out in the appended claims, reference being made to the accompanying drawings in which:

Figure 1 is a perspective view of a horizontal rotary drum churn constructed in accordance with myinvention and provided with a conventional type of driving mechanism. I

Figure 2 is another perspective view of a churn embodying my invention similar to the view shown in Figure 1, and in which the staves constituting the front portion of the churn drum have been removed to show the interior construction of the churn including the shelves and baflies and their relative positioning within the interior of the churn drum. l

Figure 3 is a transverse section elevation taken along line 3-3 of Figure 2.

Figure 4 is a perspective view partially in broken away section of an interior portion of the churn drum, showing the manner oi mounting the brackets on the interior of the ends of the drum, and the mounting of the shelves upon the brackets and the churn drum upon the supporting gudgeon.

Figure 5 is a fragmentary longitudinal section elevation of a portion of the end of the central splitting bar and drum adjacent thereto taken along the center line of said splitting bar and showing the method of fixedly supporting the splitting bar within the churn.

Figure 6 is a fragmentary sectional viewtaken through the bracket end of the churn supporting gudgeon and the adjacent portion of the drum and supporting bracket and shelf along line 6-8 of Figure 8.

Figure '7 is a fragmentary sectional view showing an alternative construction for supporting the shelves within the drum and supporting the drum upon the gudgeon, whereby the shelf sup- 6, is eliminated.

Figure 8 is a fragmentary sectional. view taken longitudinally through the bracket end of the churn supporting gudgeon and the adjacent churn drum and supporting bracket along the line 8-3- of Fi ure 6.

Figure 9 is an erid elevation of a churn embodywalls l2 and I3, suitable drum stave confining bands or hoops It provided with tightening tumbuckles l5, are placed about the outer periphery of the drum II at spaced intervals.

A novel improvement embodied in my invention is the manner in which the churn drum His supported at its ends upon supporting spiders or gudgeons in such a manner as to avoid the use of exposed metal parts within the interior of the drum II.' To thus support the drum I provide a bracket block I1 internally provided with suitable bolt anchorages, such as metal rods I 8, having several drilled or tapped openings l9 sealed into the longitudinally extending opening 20 of the block IT by stoppers 2|, as clearly shown in Figures 6 and 8. The bracket blocks I! are fitted into recesses 22 in the interior face of the end bolt openings 28 corresponding to and inalignment with the openings 24 in the end walls l2 and I3, isfixed to the bracket blocks I! on the interior of the churn drum by means of anchor bolts 29 which pass through the aligned openings 28, 24 and 23 into the tapped openings I 9 to engage the anchor rod I8.

The trunnions (not shown) to which the drum supporting gudgeons or spiders are fixed by means of hubs 25 may be supported in any conventional manner. In the embodiment of my invention shown in the Figures 1 to 8 inclusive I have shown a supporting arrangement for the churn drum similar to the supporting arrangement disclosed in my Patents No.-1,805,464 and No. 1,805,753. In general the trunnions cooperating with the supporting spiders or gudgeons are mounted in any conventional journal of the type including end thrust features, which bearings are carried at the top of vertical standards 30 and 33. The trunnion coacting with the supporting spider or gudgeon fixed to the end wall I2 is carried by a suitable drive unit generally indicated by the numeral 32, which is mounted on the vertical standard 33. Tubular bracing elements 3| join the lower portion of the vertical standards 30 and 33 to complete the churn supporting framework.

In fixing the churn supporting spider or gudgeon to the end walls of-the drum as above described, it is to be observed that the use of exposed metal parts on the interior of the churn drum is entirely avoided. Such a construction is highly desirable in that it avoids the presence of 4 exposed metal parts within thechurn, which constructicn. presents advantageous operative features. The presence of exposed metal'parts within a churn, if in contact with the wood, tends to cause deterioration of the wood which in turn may have a detrimental eflect on the quality of the product produced in the churn. It is of course needless to say that the interior of the churn is more easily cleaned when the conventional elements used in supporting the churn, such as involve the use of exposed metal parts, have been entirely obviated by the present type of construction.

' My invention also contemplates the use of new and novel'types ofshelves or baflies for the agitation, working and blending of the cream and butter being processed within the churn, as well as to perfect the operation of the chum by the elimination of unnecessary strain caused by the force of the impact of falling butter in the conventional type of churn. As shown in Figures 2,

3 and 4 the churn drum'is provided with a plurality of closed face or imperforate agitating shelves or baflies 34, 35 and 36, the ends of which are supported on brackets l1 rigidly fixed to the inner face of the end walls l2 and I3 of the churn drum. The shelves or baflles'are supported intermediate their ends by brackets 31 fixed to the interior of the longitudinal walls of the drum Ii. As a sanitary feature, it is to be noted that the shelves 34, 35 and 36 do not contact the inner periphery of the drum II, but are supported solely by brackets l1 and 31 with the rearedse of the shelves parallel to but not in contact with the straight walls of the drum II. It is to be observed that the shelves are not radially disposed with respect to the axis of the drum II, but instead the shelves 34and 35 are angularly arranged with respect to the radii of the "drum I i and are tangent to an imaginary circle concentric with the churn drum. -The shelf 38, which i the unloadingshelf," is also angularly disposed similarly to shelves 34 and 35, but is arranged tangential to a largerimaginary circle concentric with the churn drum. The rear edges of all of the shelves are equally spaced relative to the interior surface of the churn drum and.

with relation one to another.

A further important feature of my inventi n embodied in the shelves 34 and 35 resides in the construction of the shelves themselves in which and 33, as to cooperate with them in the working, blending and agitating oi' the cream'and butter which is dropped from the shelves and impinged against the splitting bar in a manner as to divide the mass into two or more individual,

portions while the churn is in rotation. Normally the portions falling ahead of. the splitting bar will be picked up and mingled with the butter already on the preceding shelf ahead. of the shelf from which the divided portion was impinged against the splitting bar. The remaining portion of the butter will fall behind the preceding shelf to be again picked up by the shelf. from which it has just been discharged. This process of chuming presents advantages over the more conventional type of churn provided with mechanically operated rolls, in that it avoids the use of unsanitary packing glands and producesa desirable type of butter with less air content having finer and more uniformly dispersed and distributed mole-- invention.

By constructing the shelves 34 and 35 widerat their outer ends than at their mid-sections and by'giving them an inclinedangular position" within the drum, when the churn is operated-the ends of the shelves will. due to their greater breadth, pick up larger quantities of cream and butter. As the churn continues to rotate, the cream and butter will first 'be discharged from the narrow central portionofthe shelves due to the lesser supporting area thereof, resulting in the flow of the material being processed toward the center of the churn. The unloading shelf 36, however, since it ispf uniform width throughthe outer ends of the shelves are made relatively wider than the mid-section of the shelves. The front leading edge of the shelves joining the narrow mid-portion oi the shelves with the wider ends may be of a curved nature if desired. However, in the preferred embodiment of my invention I have chosen straight leading edges joining the narrow mid-section of the shelf with the wider end thereof. Such a construction results .the surface of the shelf.

A further unique element of my invention in a churn resides 'in the provision of a baille memher or splitting bar 38, preferably of circular cross-section, axially positioned within the drum II and rigidly fixedto the end walls l2 and I3 by bolts 33 passing through the end walls and anchored in the metal cross bar 43 embodied in the end of the baflle element 38, whichcross bar is out its entire length, will tend,to pick up a uni-- form load throughout; the length thereof tending to spread the same toward the ends of the churn, as contrasted with the action of shelves 34 and 35 which direct the product towardthe center of the churn. Such reversing endwise agitation caused by the cooperation of the V-shaped shelves 34 and 35 and the straight unloading shelf I 38, together with the impingement of the cream and butter against the splitting bar 33, results in a greatly improved blending and working of mid-section, causes the central portion of thelayer or butter resting upon the shelves to drop therefrom before the remaining portion of the v butter resting on the wider end of the shelves is discharged and impinged against the centrally fixed splitting bar. Due to the cohesion of the particles of the newly churned butter oneto another, the portion first discharged from the midsection of the V-shaped shelves tends to" carry with it the remaining layer on the wider ends of W the shelves, resulting in acontrolled-dropping of sealed therein 'by stoppers 4|. a clearly shown by Figure 5. The splitting bar or baiiie 33 is positioned in the-chum relative to shelves 34, 33

the butter and controlled impactas it is impinged against the central splitting bar. A further resuit is the substantial accumulation of the greater portion of any layer of butter upon one of the V-shaped shelves near the central portion of the churn when discharged from the shelf.

For determining the progress of the churning operation, I provide inspection windows or indicators 54 ateither end of the churn. when the working operation of the butter is completed, it is of course desirable and necessary for convenient operation to accumulate the entire quantity of butter churned upon the unloading shelf. In this connection it will be observed that to facilitate highly efiicient agitation of the cream being churned, the shelves 34 and 35 have been extended at their outer edges into closer proximity with the splitting bar than the inner edge of the unloading shelf 36. This, however, does not interfere with the accumulation of the entire mass of butter on the unloading shelf in that the V- shaped shelves tend to direct the butter toward the center of the churn, at which point they are reasonably narrow, and thereby permit the accumulation of the entire butter content of the churn, after the working operation is completed, upon the unloading shelf. when the working operation is completed, the churn is stopped with the door 42 in the unloading position, and the churn is locked in this position by a swiveled pawl 43 mounted on the tubular frame element 3| by clamp 44 engaging the pawl 43 with the rack 45 mounted on the end of the churn drum by bolts 46. To facilitate emptying the churn drum, I provide the conventional type of dis-' charge outlet 55 mounted in one end wall of the drum adjacent the outer periphery thereof.

A further important feature of my invention In F gures 1, 2 and 4 I have shown a supporting gudgeon or spider of heavy cast construction. and as previously pointed out. the churn is supported on trunnions molmted or afllxed to the gudgeon in accordance with my invention as disclosed in my Patents No. 1,805,464 and No. 1,805,-

753. Figures 9 and 10 show an improved gudgeon or supporting spider comprising the conventional trunnion hub 24', to which wide but relatively thin radial sheet metal arms 4! are afllxed as by rivets 50. The terminals ii at the ends of the radial arms .49 are substantially the same length and width as the terminals 21 of the cast gudgeon previously described and are provided with similarly spaced anchor bolt openings I!- parts within the churn whereby the churn is ren-' dered more sanitary and easily cleaned due to resides in the manner of supporting the ends of the shelves in the churn whereby the shelves are removably and rigidly supported without the use of any exposed metal parts. The shelf supporting bracket shown in Figures 6 and 8 comprises the bracket l'l fitted into the recess 22 in the end walls I: and is of the churn drum II, and held rigidly in place by the gudgeon anchor bolts 29. The shelves resting upon the brackets H are fixed thereto by countersunk bolts 41 extending through the shelves into the brackets" and suitably threaded into the bolt anchorage It on the interior of the brackets". Stoppers 48 are fitted into the countersunk openings of the shelves to seal the exposed metal surface of the bolts 41.

An alternate construction for the supporting of the shelves in the churn is shown in Figure 1, in which the brackets I! are replaced by the ends of the shelves. "By fitting the ends of the shelves tightly into the recess ii the tendency to split the ends of the shelves by tightening the bolts 29, thereby applying pressure to the bolt anchor-- age is provided on the interior of the end of the shelves, is substantially avoided. In this alternative construction, it is of course not necessary .to separately fix the shelf to the bolt anchorage II as it .is when the preferred construction shown in Figure 6 is used. ,By so mounting the shelves of the churn upon the same bracket i! to which the chun supporting spider or gudgeon terminals 21 are afflxed, I have perfected an extremely satisfactory and economical churn drum and shelf support. It is also to be noted, as is clearly shown in Figure 9, that the anchor bolts 2! which afilx the spider terminals 21 to the bracket I! are not arranged in parallel alignment with the grain of the wood of the end walls I! and I3, whereby the possibility of splitting the end walls due to impact strain caused by the dropping cream or butter during the churning operation is substantially avoided.

the elimination of unsanitary packings, cracks, crevices, exposed metal parts. as well as such necessary driving mechanism common in mechanically operated roll types of churns. The improved churn action is secured by the use of fixed angularly disposed shelves in combination with the fixed central splitting bar, which. due to the construction and arrangement of the shelves,

' some of which are provided with a V-shaped leading edge, produce areversing endwlse agitation and controlled vertical concussion during the churning operation. Also due to the novel practice of working the butter by V-shaped shelves;

the butter is subjected to less friction, less air is incorporated therein, and a more waxy body imparted to the butter, thereby generally improving the quality of the product. However, the reversing agitation caused by the cooperation of the V- shaped shelves and the unloading shelf imparts a desirable working and blending to the butter produced, assuring a uniform product and the uniform distribution of salt and moisture throughout the entire mass. By thus working the butter, it is not. overworked and the body thereof is not ruined by excessive squeezing or friction which normally has a tendency tccause salviness in the butter commonly associated with overworking the butter in churns provided with mechanically operated workers.

when the churning operation is completed and the butter hasbeen satisfactorily workemit can easily and conveniently be positioned upon the unloading shelf due to the operation of the V shaped shelves which tend to work the butter toward the center of the churn, at-whlch point these shelves are relatively narrow. The unloading as shelf, however, being of uniform width throughout its entire length will pick up the entire load of thechurn due to the fact that the V-shaped shelves do not interfere with the dropping .of the butter from the shelves being unloaded during the rota-- parts within the churn, and avoids the use of all unsanitary packing glands and normally exposed metal parts necessary in the conventional type of churn provided with mechanical workers. The novel manner of mounting the churn drum upon the supporting spider by fixing the terminals of the supporting spider or gudgeon to a bracket which also supports the shelves on the interior of the drum is a decided improvement over the present type of construction. This construction enables the ready removal of defective shelves from the brackets and facilitates the replacement thereof by new shelves without completely dismantling any part of the churn drum, which in the conventional type of churn is almost always necessary. The novel churn shelf supporting bracket further enables the rigid supporting of the shelf within the churn without the use of any exposed metal parts. Improved flexible gudgeons may be used in combination with the adjustable manner of supporting a churn as disclosed in my previously referred to patents, or may be mounted on a fixed trunnion. However, due to the resilience of the gudgeon arms of the improved type as disclosed in Figures 9 and 10, sufficient flexibility is provided to allow for expansion, distortion or warpage which may occur in the churn drum or end walls during normal operation of the churn, thereby preventing the application of undue strain on the trunnion bearings or driving mechanism.

It will of course be understood that the various detailed alterations and arrangements of the principal elements which have been described and illustrated to explain the invention may be made by those skilled in the art within the scope of the invention as set forth in the'appended claims.

I claim as my invention:

1. A churn comprising a processing drum, supports for rotatably supporting said drum, means secured to said drum for rotating the same, and a plurality of straight imperforate shelves extending from end to end of said drum and being of a varying width throughout their length, some of said shelves being relatively narrow at their mid-sections and relatively wider at allpoints more remote from their mid-sections.

' 2. Achum comprising a processing drum, supports for rotatably supporting said drum, means secured to said drum for rotating the same, and

a plurality of fiat shelves angularly disposed relative to intersecting radii of said drum and extending longitudinally throughout the entire length of said drum and being of a varying width throughout their entire length, some of said shelves being relatively narrow at their mid-sections with respect to their end sections.

3. A device of the type described comprising a processing drum, supports for rotatably supporting said drum, means secured to said drum for rotating the same, a fixedaxially extending baffle within said drum, and a plurality of fixed shelves angularly disposed with respect to intersecting radii of said drum and extending longitudinally throughout the entire length of said drum adjacent the inner periphery thereof with the plane of each shelf perpendicular to a right transverse plane of said drum, some Of said shelves being of varying width throughout their entire length and being relatively wider at their end sections than at an intermediate portion thereof.

4. A churn and butterworker comprising, in

combination, a horizontally disposed drmn-like processing chamber arranged to rotate about its axis, and a rigidly fixed imperforate butterworking shelf extending from end to end of said chamber along the inner periphery thereof, said shelf having its outer edge extending substantially parallel to the axis of said chamber and being so constructed as to have its inner edge in a substantially V-shaped configuration, all portions of said shelf positioned at either side of the apex of the V-shaped configuration being wider than the portion of the shelf positioned at the apex of the V-shaped configuration, whereby to cause butter picked up by said shelf during the rotation of said chamber to drop from'said shelf upon the further rotation of said chamber in a manner to facilitate theraccumulation of the butter in the portion of the chamber alined with the apex of the 'V-shaped shelf by causing the butter adjacent the apex of the shelf to drop from the shelf before the butter more remotely positioned from the apex of the shelf drops therefrom.

5. A churn having, in'combination, a rotatable processing drum, shelves extending longitudinally throughout the length of said drum and fixed to the ends thereof and each lying entirely within a single plane, some of said shelves being relatively wider at their end portions than at their mid-sections and varying in width substantially throughout their entire length, and a fixed baflle extending centrally throughout the entire length of the interior of said drum, some of said shelves,

being so constructed and arranged as to effect a gradual dropping of material from the shelves toward the axial mid-portion of the churn when the churn is being rotated in operation.

Y 6. A churn and butterworker having, in combination, a processing drum horizontally disposed to rotate about its axis, a plurality of fixed butterworking shelves having relatively narrow midsections and extending from end to end of said drum adjacent the inner periphery thereof, a fixed splitting bar axially disposed in said drum, and asubstantially rectangular unloading shelf,

, said butterworking shelves being of varying width substantially throughout their entire length and being so constructed and arranged as to direct the butter being worked toward the central portion of said drum, where it may be picked up as a unitary mass by the unloading shelf.

'7. A churn and butterworker comprising a drum having a closed-faced shelf within said drum extending from end to end thereof and being in a plane perpendicular to a diametral plane of said drum, said shelf varying progressively in width from the ends thereof inwardly toward-a portion of the shelf intermediate said ends, said portion being substantially devoid of any additional variation in width.

8. A churn and butterworker comprising, in

combination, a drum-like processing chamber arranged to rotate about its axis, and a flat closedface buttenworking shelf within said drum-like processing chamber and extending from end to end thereof along the inner periphery of said drum-like processing chamber, said shelf decreasing progressively inwidth from the ends thereof to a portion of the shelf intermediate said ends, said portion being substantially devoid of any additional variation in width.

ARTHUR H. BOILEAU. 

